This was my first Dylan show, so understandably it is one of the most meaningful field recordings to me. The dark cloud that hung over the country after 9/11 had not completely dissipated, and so when Dylan took the stage with the band and ripped into the upbeat cover of �Wait for the Light to Shine� it was like an old-fashioned revival. I had never heard the song before, but in its simplicity a wealth of hope sprang up within my soul. Not only was I thrilled to see Dylan, this song was like a personal invitation to leave all the hardships of the outside world at the door and enter into the concert experience fully. I accepted the invitation.

It was rather appropriate, in hindsight, that Dylan would open with a cover. To me, Dylan has an undeniable ability to take the sounds and styles of others and make them his own. While I knew that �Wait for the Light to Shine� was not a Dylan-written song, he sang it so effortlessly and precisely, that it resonated from him as if he were its author. However, when the first chords were struck on the next song my heart truly leapt, for what Dylan was able to do with a cover song, was multiplied a thousand fold with one of his own compositions.

�Mr. Tambourine Man� came across as another invitation from Bob to now join him on a trek �Down the foggy ruins of time�. His sing-song vocals really fit this song. His drawl at the ends of the lines was tinged with an obvious playfulness. The song just lingered on and on, line after line, no rush, just stand there and enjoy it. We have all night together. It was a perfect �first song� of Dylan�s to hear him perform live and remains one of my favorite performances of his of all time.

�It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)� was great to hear. It is a classic song that contains a masterful display of Dylan�s lyrical ability, and it�s one of my favorites. As the show continued I stood there transfixed as I watched this living legend. My wife and I had gone with a veteran Dylan fan and his wife. I had a casual interest in Dylan, but that summer I had begun to delve into him more and more. This was especially fuelled by the discovery of the trading community. Needless to say, as I was listening to the show I was thinking of attempting to obtain a copy of the show and hoped that it was being recorded.

I had scheduled months before a � day vacation on September 11th because my wife had a dentist appointment in the afternoon and I was going to go home and watch my daughter while she went. Well, that morning as I sat at work and watched the events of that �sad ol' lonesome day� I had already been planning on swinging by the record store on my way home and picking up a copy of �Love and Theft� that was being released that day. It was the first �new release� of Dylan that I had ever purchased. That day sure made the purchase significant. At the show it was great to hear �Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum� as the first live song from �Love and Theft� that Bob played.

As Bob played �Positively 4th Street� I was able to tell my wife to listen closely to the lyrics. Bob sang clear and with some great inflection and feeling on the song. It came across flawlessly with his vocals strong and up front. And the last line was delivered as the perfect punch line. This song ranks up there as one of my lyrical favorites and was thrilling to hear live.

I had been watching the set lists pretty closely, having just joined up with the Dylanpool. My wife and I were pretty new to a lot of Dylan�s stuff at the time. Because of this, I had created a compilation of the top songs that he was playing on the Fall 2001 tour up until the week before our show so that we could at least be more familiar with what was predominantly being played. I�m thankful I did that. It really helped us to pick out and enjoy the songs more than if I had not known them better.

�Don't Think Twice, It's All Right� was great. Again, it was awesome to hear Dylan blow on the harp. It was very minimalist in style, but great every time he picked it up. The next song was a real highlight for me. �John Brown� was performed with such power. When I heard him start it off I was floored. It was a great, unexpected surprise to hear this classic live at my first Dylan concert. I remember being transfixed as he sung. At the end, I realized that I actually had tears in my eyes.

It was nice, after such a heavy song to hear the intro to �Tangled Up in Blue�. �Summer Days� was very upbeat. I didn�t really appreciate the song on the album until I saw it performed live. And each time I saw it performed I loved it more and more until finally, seeing the quintessential performance of it at Kent, Ohio the next year.

My favorite track off of �Love and Theft� is �Mississipi� and it was a rare treat to see and hear it performed. To me, this night�s performance has been the best I have heard of it performed live. I had only listened to album version of �Drifter�s Escape� so the live version really threw me until near the end when I followed the story. It really rocked though!

The rest of the band was great, and I�m thankful that I got to see the musicians who performed on the �Love and Theft� album play together live. That was significant to me. Of course, another significant moment was when �Like a Rolling Stone� was played. That was the song that I knew the best and to get to hear it live was, well, as you can probably guess; yet another treat.

My friend who was with us was hoping to hear �I Shall Be Released�, and it was special that it was played next. It was a great moving performance of it too. The band was very balanced and blended so well through it. I remember looking over at my friend and I could tell that this was the highlight of the show for him. I thought how this show really had a lot of highlights. I was very thankful that it was such a good night for my first Dylan concert.

When I heard �Like a Rolling Stone� I knew that the show was just about over. I saw Bob in concert five times over the next year and every show ended with the �Blowin� in the Wind� and �All Along the Watchtower� pair. It was always sad each time those two songs played because I knew that this may be the last time I saw Bob live. I sure know I never thought that I would see him so many times in the span of a year. After that first year I have only had the opportunity to get to one other show. That one ended differently than my first five. And out of all the shows I have seen, seeing him in Columbus in the fall of 2001 was the most memorable and significant for me.

A few days later I found an MP3 of �Mississipi� on the web. It gave me hope that the show was recorded and that I would be able to hear it again. Sure enough, in exactly one month I had a copy of the show in my hands and was able to relive the experience audibly. This was the "From Mississippi To Ohio, High Water Everywhere" boot. Some time later I was able to find an alternate recording of the show, from the taper, that hadn't circulated too much and while the first copy of the show I received was a bit clearer, the second one had less audience chatter. It really was great to be able to have a tangible relic from my memorable concert moments with Dylan.